exploration
Pronouncedehk-spler-AY-shuhn
nounA journey to discover and learn about new places.
nounThe act of looking into or examining something carefully to find out about it.
nounA doctor's careful examination of someone's body to check their health.
Syllables
4 syllables
Letters
Phonics breakdown
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound “eh”. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says “eh” like an egg on your head.
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter X
Sound“ks”·/ks/
The letter X usually makes the /ks/ sound, like in 'fox', 'box', and 'mix'.
X is unusual — it represents two sounds blended together: /k/ + /s/ = /ks/. At the start of a word it sometimes makes a /z/ sound (xylophone). At the end of words it reliably says /ks/.
Tip
X says /ks/ — like a fox in a box!
Examples
Phonics Rule: PL Blend
Sound“pl”·/pl/
P and L blend together — you hear both sounds! Like in 'play' and 'plan'.
The blend PL combines /p/ and /l/ spoken quickly together.
Examples
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled OR
Sound“or”·/ɔːr/
When R comes after O, it makes the “or” sound, like in 'for' and 'corn'.
OR makes the “or” sound. Unlike ER, IR, UR which all sound the same, OR has its own distinct sound. The companion rule r_controlled_or_er covers the “er” pronunciation after W (word, work).
Tip
OR — the horse in the corner says “or”!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Open Syllable A (Long A)
Sound“ay”·/eɪ/
When A is the last letter of a syllable, the syllable is open and the A says its name “ay” — like in 'ba-by' and 'pa-per'.
This is the open-syllable pattern: a syllable that ends in a vowel leaves that vowel 'open', so it says its long name. Here, a lone A at the end of a syllable says “ay” (ba-by, a-pron, lady). The long A sound is also spelled other ways, each its own rule — silent E (cake), or vowel teams (ai in rain, ay in play) — but those are not open syllables.
Tip
Long A says its name — A!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -TION
Sound“shun”·/ʃən/
-TION says “shun”! It turns verbs into nouns, like 'action' and 'nation'.
The suffix -tion is pronounced “shun”. It usually turns a verb into a noun: 'act' → 'action'. The TI makes a “sh” sound, which is unusual for T.
Tip
TION says SHUN — the nation takes action!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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